French officials are reporting with certainty that there is a connection between last week’s attack against the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in which 12 people were killed.  Brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi murdered 12 people in that attack. Said’s identity card was found in the vehicle they abandoned following the attack, leading authorities to their identities. They managed to flee Paris without being apprehended. Two days later they robbed a gas station 100km NE of Paris. Cherif was wounded in his through by police at that incident. His brother got away.

On Thursday, 17 Teves, Amedy Coulibaly shot a policewomen dead in southern Paris. Police reported he was connected to the Kouachi brothers and a Paris-based jihad group. Said had traveled to Yemen and was in touch with an al-Qaeda branch there.

Then came the standoff on Friday, 18 Teves. They took a hostage in a printing house in Dammartin-en-Goele near Charles de Gaulle Airport, leading to a standoff. They then headed to the Hyper Cacher kosher supermarket in the de Vincennes area of eastern Paris. They took hostages and murdered Yoav Hattab, 21, Philippe Braham, in his 40s, Yohan Cohen, 22, and Francois-Michel Saada HY”D, in his 60s. They were all members of the local Jewish community.

It is reported that when Coulibaly entered the supermarket he was carrying a Kalashnikov assault rifle, a handgun and a knife. He was suited in a bullet proof vest. He killed Cohen immediately as he tried to get his weapon. He was shot in his head.

The terrorists remain at large. French police and other security agencies are involved in what the experts are calling the largest manhunt in that nation’s history. The wife of Amedy Coulibaly, Hayat Boumeddiene, is the subject of the manhunt. She may have fled to Syria according to officials in Turkey. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said there were “cracks, failures and gaps” in the security and intelligence communities. It is reported that Cherif Kouachi was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment after being convicted of terrorism in 2008. He “fell off the radar” after his release from prison. Thousands of security forces have been mobilized to take part in the unprecedented manhunt.

There were dozens of marches throughout France on Shabbos, 19 Teves, with local media reporting hundreds of thousands of people took part to send a message to terrorists. The popular slogan in France has become “I am Charlie”. On Sunday, the “Silent March” will be held in Paris and organizers hope as many as 1 million people will take part. Representatives of the Jewish community will be meeting with state officials on Sunday ahead of the Silent March. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman is expected to take part as are many other leaders from around the world. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu considered taking part but this was nixed due to security concerns. Jordan’s King Abdullah II announced he and the queen would be in attendance. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said he too will attend. Many other European and world leaders will be taking part in the march.

The French media reports there is a backlash against Muslim community including over 12 incidents over the weekend. These attacks include against mosques, cars and Muslim families.

Some feel that the attacks come at a particularly decisive time in France and Europe and the recent attacks are simply serving as fuel for extremists. A brother of the policeman killed at point blank range last week spoke to the French media calling of an end to racism and attacks against shuls and mosques. “We may not confuse Islamic extremists with Muslims. Madman have no color” he stated.
He called on the extremists elements that the violence will not bring the dead back to live nor will it provide any measure of comfort to the families.

On Sunday, 20 Teves, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat will hold a unity rally at the Jerusalem Municipality to demonstrate Jerusalem’s support for the French nation and the Jewish community in France following the terror attacks in Paris last week. The rally will take place at 14:30 in the city council hall.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)